North Korea

Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

North Korea was formed after Japan relinquished its 35-year occupation of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II. The East Asian nation established its independence in 1948, splitting from South Korea in a battle over sovereignty that triggered the Korean War in 1950 and that remains a source of tension between the two countries to this day. Since its founding, North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family, currently headed by Kim Jong-un, under a state-run socialist government that many consider to be a Stalinist dictatorship. The family’s dedication to Songun, or a military-first policy, has led the isolated, impoverished and often famine-stricken nation to pursue a nuclear weapons program, incurring sanctions and worldwide condemnation.

Learn more about North Korea. Scroll below to view our archive of articles and chronology of latest news.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 27, 2015

North Korea arrests South Korean men Kim Guk-gi and Choe Chun-gil on espionage charges. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

Russian Foreign Ministry announces agreement with North Korea to declare 2015 'Year of Friendship' between countries; declaration, which follows confirmation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit Moscow in May, highlights countries' growing diplomatic ties and strained relations with West. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

Thirty female activists are planning walk across demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to call for permanent peace treaty to replace 1953 armistice that stopped Korean War; nations have not approved event, planned for May 24 International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Marzuki Darusman, United Nations investigator and special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, calls for international action to force North Korea to account for hundreds of missing foreign citizens believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Rev Lim Hyeon-soo, pastor of Korean church in suburban Toronto, is reportedly being held by North Korean government after he failed to return from humanitarian mission there. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

North Korea launches two Scud-type ballistic missiles towards the sea between Korean Peninsula and Japan as United States and South Korea begin annual joint military drills; United Nations resolutions ban the North from testing ballistic-missile technology. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Editorial warns North Korea could be on path to have 100 nuclear weapons by 2020, according to experts Joel Wit and David Albright; cautions that North Korea's production of high numbers of weapons is likely to result in sales of the weapons to other nations; urges Obama administration and other global powers to take stronger action to curb North Korea's missile and weapon production. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Human rights group NK Watch has collected testimony from 13 former North Korean workers illustrating how country sends its citizens abroad to work long hours in return for badly needed foreign currency; group has petitioned United Nations to investigate practice that they dub 'state-sponsored slavery.' MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

South Korea reports the North Korea has fired five short-range missiles off its coast. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

North Korea reports that it has successfully launched new antiship missile. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

China formally detains Kevin Garratt, Canadian man tied to Christian group providing aid to North Koreans across border from China, on suspicion of stealing state secrets; releases the man's wife after holding the couple for six months without charge. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

United Nations special investigator Marzuki Darusman, who has been tasked with looking into human rights abuses in North Korea, says in interview that ruling Kim family has to be replaced in order to break up country's network of prison camps; Darusman cites cult leadership system as impediment to ending abuses. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

December 2014 incident in which North Korean soldier crossed border into northeastern China and fatally shot two older Chinese couples has alarmed Chinese officials and come to represent strained relations between countries; officials say soldier likely slipped across border to steal food, raising questions over North Korea's treatment of its armed forces. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

South Korean Pres Lee Myung-bak says in his memoir that he rejected North Korea's demands for $10 billion aid package in exchange for talks in 2009, because he wanted to break pattern of rewarding North simply for agreeing to talk; book is scheduled for publication in February 2015. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to visit Moscow in May, hoping to strengthen ties between nations whose relations with west have faltered; visit will mark Kim's first trip abroad since coming to power in 2011. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Some North Korean defectors are at forefront of efforts to smuggle South Korean soap operas into North, pointing to themselves as examples of how such television programs show disparities between the two countries; North's leader Kim Jong-un has struggled to balance opening country enough to keep top loyalists happy while preventing influx of material contradicting government propaganda about inferiority of South and capitalism. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Russia invites North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit during its May 9 celebrations of 70th anniversary of Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany; trip would be Kim's first abroad since coming to power in 2011. MORE

Jan. 19, 2015

United States government was able to quickly identify North Korea as source of cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment because of National Security Agency's careful infiltration of country's computer networks that began in 2010; previous spear fishing attacks with which attackers gained access to Sony computers were noticed but disregarded; some cybersecurity experts remain skeptical that North Korea is responsible. MORE

Jan. 19, 2015

North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk, whose disturbing accounts of life in prison camp were depicted in 2012 book Escape from Camp 14, confesses that some parts of his story were fabricated; admission could jeopardize effort to bring North before International Criminal Court. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

DVD vendors in Yangon, Myanmar, say that police, occasionally accompanied by North Korean officials, are cracking down on pirated copies of controversial movie The Interview; comedy about fictitious CIA plot to kill North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un had been best seller but is now disappearing from larger stores as result of what appears to be pressure from North Korea. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Editorial holds United States should test North Korea's offer of putting temporary moratorium on nuclear tests if US refrains from military exercises with South Korea; warns Pyongyang may have enough fissile material for a dozen warheads and suggests exercises be modified in such a way as to keep engagement with North Korea going, since world cannot acquiesce as nation continues to assemble arsenal. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

South Korean prosecutors say they have arrested Hwang Sun, erstwhile member of defunct left-wing political party, on charges of flouting anti-communist law with supporting remarks about North Korea. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

South Korean Pres Park Geun-hye calls on North Korea to engage in negotiations regarding topics that will further reconciliation, such as allowing families divided by Korean War to reunite. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

Democracy activists say some North Koreans reacted with anger and derision in secretly watching Sony Pictures movie The Interview, about fictional plot to assassinated leader Kim Jong-un; point out few will risk seeing film but those who did had wounded feelings over their sense of national pride. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

South Korea deports South Korean-born American Shin Eun-mi over supportive comments she made about her trips to North Korea; law prohibits her from returning to South Korea for five years. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

North Korea says it will temporarily halt nuclear tests if United States cancels its joint annual military exercises with South Korea. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

Report by Joseph S Bermudez Jr, arms expert with research group 38north, suggests that North Korea is working to develop ability to launch missiles from submarines; says satellite images show North Korean submarine with possible launching tubes. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

North Korean soldier who killed four Chinese citizens in northeast China in late December dies during arrest attempt by Chinese police. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Government officials and Federal Bureau of Investigation Dir James B Comey say they are sure North Korea was behind cyberattacks on Sony Pictures due to fact that hackers initially failed to disguise routing of attacks; Comey calls for declassification of information related to attack, as skeptics wish to see FBI's evidence. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

South Korean Defense Ministry says North Korea apparently has made 'significant' advance toward constructing nuclear warhead that can fit onto long-range missile capable of reaching West Coast of United States. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Chinese authorities say they have made formal diplomatic complaint to North Korea about killing of four Chinese citizens during robbery attempt by soldier who was attempting to flee the North. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

North Korea denounces United States over its latest sanctions after cyberattack on Sony Pictures; repeats its denial of involvement in hacking Sony computers, and states sanctions will increase its intention to follow 'military first' policy. MORE

Jan. 3, 2015

Obama administration announces new sanctions against 10 senior North Korean officials in response to cyberattack on Sony Pictures; North Korea has denied any involvement, and Obama critics question whether there is enough evidence to place blame on the country. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un addresses nation in New Year's speech, saying he is looking to improve relations with South Korea and is willing to sit down with Pres Park Geun-hye; analysts question whether Kim's overture is genuine. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

Paul Fischer book A Kim Jong-il Production, set to be published by Flatiron Books in February, describes North Korea's uneasy relationship with movies; North Korean government has long used movies as means of shaping public perception of leadership, but overreaction to spoof film The Interview reflects fears of waning control. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Japan and South Korea announce they will share military intelligence about North Korean missile and nuclear weapons programs, along with United States; defense analysts say pact is small but symbolic agreement bringing together estranged Asian allies. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Editorial warns that cyberattack on Sony Pictures, which Obama administration has blamed on North Korea, points to urgent need for improved cyber security; urges corporations and federal, state and local governments to redouble efforts to protect their networks; calls for Obama administration to take steps to prevent future attacks. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

North Korea accuses United States of cutting off its Internet, while once again denying it had any part in cyberattack on Sony Pictures. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

New York Times reporter Jere Longman imagines participating in the 2015 Pyongyang Marathon in North Korea, event that the hermit nation is opening up to amateur international runners. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Sony Pictures begins screening its previously canceled movie The Interview at 331 small, independently owned theaters, many of which report sellouts; many movegoers seek to take political stand for free speech after hackers, traced to North Korean government, threatened violence against theaters which showed film. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Sony begins streaming film The Interview, comedy about assassination of North Korea ruler Kim Jong-un, on Google Play, YouTube, Microsoft's Xbox Video and its own website; major theater chains canceled film's release after North Korean terror threat. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Security researchers are increasingly voicing doubts about the United States government assertions that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony’s computer network. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Sony Pictures, in reversal, says it will release controversial film The Interview in small number of theaters on Christmas; will also possibly offer video-on-demand availability; comedy about assassination of North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un had been pulled after hackers threatened violence against theaters that showed it; decision was criticized by irate Hollywood stars, free-speech advocates, and even Pres Obama. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

News analysis; North Korea's cyberattack on Sony Pictures illustrates absence of treaties, laws and best practices to deal with digital conflicts; United States took extraordinary step of identifying North Korea as culprit, but has refused to release details and has not claimed responsibility for counterattack; question remains whether ruler Kim Jong-un will back off or push forward with new attacks. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

North Korea's Internet connection fails hours after announcement by Pres Obama that United States will retaliate for attack on Sony Pictures; cause of failure is unclear but could be attributed to several factors, including attack by US, interruption by China's state-owned telecommunications company, or preemptive measure by North Korea itself. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

United Nations Security Council, for first time, holds briefing on human rights in North Korea, focusing on UN report into widespread and systematic abuses there; North Korea, despite struggling with Internet shutdown and spat with United States over hacking attack on Sony Pictures, renews threat of nuclear testing in retaliation. MORE

Dec. 22, 2014

Pres Obama will review whether to return North Korea to list of state sponsors of terrorism; action is part of broader government response to damaging cyberattack on Sony's Hollywood studio. MORE

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North Korea said on Friday that it had arrested two South Korean men on espionage charges for collecting military and other secrets on the isolated country, including data regarding its top leadership.

March 6, 2015, Friday

The South Korean police said on Friday that they were seeking to bring attempted murder and other criminal charges against an anti-American activist who slashed the United States ambassador to South Korea.